Roy Keane reignites Alf-Inge Haaland feud with brutal World Cup comment

Roy Keane didn't hold back as he hit back at Alf-Inge Haaland for his comments about Norway's World Cup loss to England.

On Saturday night, England booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals for only the fourth time with a 2-1 win over Norway.

A heroic performance from Jude Bellingham saw the Real Madrid star scored an equaliser to take the score to 1-1 within 90 minutes before netting the winner just minutes into the first period of extra-time.

The result means that England will meet reigning champions Argentina in a semi-final clash on Wednesday night, while Norway's dark horse run came to an end.

Following the match, former Norway international Alf-Inge Haaland, father of Manchester City star Erling Haaland, took to social media to criticise match referee Clement Turpin.

Posting on X, he wrote: "You were saved by the referee. I hope you go on to win the World Cup, but I feel we were unfairly robbed today."

In a now-deleted comment, he added: “Well done Bellingham and referee.”

Not long after, Keane, who had a brutal and violent rivalry with Haaland, gave his own opinion on the referee's performance, but he couldn't resist the chance to take a dig at his former foe.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane said: "I think the referee gave England quite a few of the 50-50 decisions. I'm not talking about the major incidents. It just seemed he leaned slightly towards England, and that happens in football. I'm certainly not saying he cost Norway the game, but a few decisions could have gone the other way.

"Will he [Haaland] even remember the match? Because every time I see him at games, he seems to be drinking alcohol. Seriously, if you've had a few drinks, you probably see the game differently."

In one of the most controversial moments of the match, Norway saw a potential winning goal disallowed after Haaland was deemed to have pushed Elliot Anderson, preventing him from defending a Norway set piece.

It's likely that this is one of the moments that Alf-Inge was most frustrated by, but Keane believed that decision was valid.

He added: "'Listen, I'll always be trying to go the other way (against England) a little bit, if it's 50-50, but the push is a push and then he heads it, so there you go.

"Families and fans after games, we saw the interviews with the England manager, Bellingham, family members, they're all a bit emotional so you try and give them the benefit of the doubt.

"But when people wake up tomorrow morning, you won't be sitting there going, "The referee's cost us". You can't. You can argue a couple of decisions but you can't say, 'He's cost us'. No."

Keane's comments soon went viral on social media, prompting a not-so-subtle response from Haaland, who simply wrote: "Once a p***k always a p***k."

READ MORE: Erling Haaland 'text' claim forces Norway doctor to respond emphatically

Gary Neville and Ian Wright respond to Alf-Inge Haaland's comments after England v Norway

However, both Gary Neville and Ian Wright agreed with Keane's assessment of the match, criticising Haaland's comments on social media.

"Is that sour grapes from Alf-Inge Haaland, saying well done to Bellingham and the referee?" Wright asked.

"I think that was just a bit of a low blow from him."

Meanwhile, Neville added: "I didn't think it was a game where, as an England fan, that I thought we were lucky because of the referee.

"I thought against Ghana we were lucky, when Ezri Konsa's penalty wasn't given, and that's when you are lucky, when you think you've got away with one."

England v Argentina kicks off at 20:00 BST at the Atlanta Stadium, with the winners set to meet either France or Spain in the final.